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Promotional art for Love Joy
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Love Joy

Joyelle Nicole Johnson

Peacock · 2021 · 52 min

A relaxed debut hour about family secrets, Craigslist roommates, and therapy.

Watch on Peacock(opens in a new tab)

Joyelle Nicole Johnson spent her debut hour arguing that everyone on Earth needs to be in therapy, offering her own checkered history as proof of the concept. Her set builds its momentum on chaotic, personal anecdotes, like the time her friend spotted her father on a sugar-daddy website, or her brief relocation to Georgia to ‘swing the vote’ in the 2020 election. She also touches on the indignity of getting pregnant on an Amtrak bathroom floor and the unique misery of living with terrible Craigslist roommates.

The special was filmed at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Johnson’s 40th birthday, capping off a breakthrough year for the veteran comic. In 2021, she had already released her debut album, Yell Joy!, and was writing for HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. After she performed a set on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Fallon was impressed enough to sign on as an executive producer for this Peacock release. The hour earned a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Comedy Special.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Advocating for why everyone needs to go to therapy

    Explores couples therapy and personal mental health journeys to make a comedic case for therapy.

  2. Catty Craigslist roommates

    Shares personal horror stories and the perils of navigating difficult roommate situations in New York.

  3. Impressions of spoiled students and a grammatically lacking date

    Utilizes sharp character act-outs and vocal impressions highlighting awkward interpersonal interactions.

  4. Navigating an interracial relationship

    Humorous observations on relationship dynamics from the familial to the familiar.

How it plays

Tone
Autobiographical, joyful, warm, and candidly honest.
On stage
Effervescent, likable, confident, and self-described 'word nerd' who brings infectious energy and joy to the stage.
Pace
Meticulously crafted cadence delivered with effortless ease, compared by one critic to a ballerina gliding en pointe.
About
therapy and mental wellness, dating and relationships, interracial dating, family, catty roommates and Craigslist housing, turning 40

What the critics said

Critically praised as an exceptional debut special; Clare Martin of Paste Magazine awarded it a 9/10, lauding Johnson's joke writing, craft, and effortless stage presence.

In the room: Warm and highly responsive; Johnson connected intimately with the crowd, with reviewers noting she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: theblacklistnyc.com, pastemagazine.com, weownthelaughs.com, rottentomatoes.com, theinterrobang.com, vanyaland.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.

Backstory

Filmed on Johnson's 40th birthday under strict COVID-19 safety protocols (vaccination requirements and audience rapid testing) and executive produced by Jimmy Fallon after she performed on The Tonight Show.

Details

Released
Taped
The Bell House, Brooklyn
Runtime
52 min
Where
Peacock
Honors
2022 Critics Choice Award Nominee for Best Comedy Special
Topics

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